Stop to Smell the Roses!

I was just reading an excerpt from readers digest. It was written by a woman who had lost all her money from Bernie Madoff and she spoke of the gift she received from losing everything. It helped her to gain new insight and perspective on her life. I find it amazing that someone could lose all their money in such a way and still find a reason to be grateful. That is a very special gift of peace and grace if you ask me.

That is a true example of taking your life into your own hands. We can't control what happens to us, but we can control the actions we take and how we react when things do occur in our lives. She started to look at things differently. She described herself and the society we live in as one that is so busy looking at the next bite, we don't enjoy what is in our mouth. She talked about the desperate need to have that new coat in the store window, even though the last one she wanted so badly has been sitting in her closet for a year, untouched.

One thing she said that hit home for me was, enjoy each day. She said to work hard for what you want, but enjoy what what you have, because after all, when you die, you can't take your money or your skinny thighs with you. She is right. I spend so much time disliking this body that I am in, and so much time wishing I was thin and talking about all the things I will do when I finally lose weight, that I don't pay much attention to today. I don't see the life that is right in front of me.

My life isn't black or white. And what I mean by that is, my life isn't all bad because I am over weight and my life won't be all good when I am thin. I will still be the same person with the same life 100 pounds from now. So, although I do pretty much think I am happy and I work at being grateful for what I have everyday, I do think I need to work a little harder at living in the NOW. Enjoying each day as it comes because there is no guarantee of tomorrow for any of us. Today is all I have, so each day I will work hard on my diet, but not get so caught up in it that I forget to enjoy today, and I will stop hating "Today" just because my pants size isn't what I want it to be. I am still alive, still living and breathing and I have to make the most of everyday.

I am grateful for my life, my family, my friends, my job and I enjoy my life because of all that. Losing weight is something I can do to enhance my life and my health, but it is not the one thing that is going to change everything in my whole life.

I think keeping that idea in the front of our minds as we strive to accomplish anything is so important. One of the things that I feel keeps me motivated is the fact that God gave me a body that works. I am not in a wheelchair, I am not missing a limb, I am not sick and bed ridden. I think taking that for granted is part of what led me to get to where I am now. But I have a gift that many people don't have but would give almost anything to have it. I am wasting a beautiful gift, and so I have learned that I have to enjoy today and be grateful for the body that I have now. Work to improve it, but stop and smell the roses once in a while in the body you have. After all, you just never know what tomorrow will bring! Enjoy what you have today and everyday!!

It's not what we eat but what we digest that makes us strong; not what we gain but what we save that makes us rich; not what we read but what we remember that makes us learned; and not what we profess but what we practice that gives us integrity - Francis Bacon Sr.